As of this week, harvest is officially underway in the Northern Willamette Valley.

That’s not to say that everyone is picking. We brought in a few tons of Chasselas Dore and Muscat Ottonel at just under 18 brix over the weekend, but everything else is still out there enjoying the last days of pristine sunshine before we bring the fruit in to the winery. Picking at 18 brix will give wonderfully bright, low alcohol wines, which is why those varietals are generally harvested so much earlier than the rest. The aromas of freshly fermenting Muscat Ottonel in the production room serve as an aperitivo to what will surely come, quite soon. Clipping clusters of Chasselas in the Dundee Hills last week, the guys recounted their memories of when they last picked this early – noventa y dos – 1992. That is not to say that this year’s harvest is quite as early as ’92, which began September 5th, and progressed very steadily in order to avoid pH and sugar levels rising up dangerously high. No, this early pick was relaxed, fun and a good couple weeks before anything else will come – a ‘family pick’ to kick off the season. The flavors in the grapes were soft, and the bright acids and low sugar levels will produce refreshing wines at under 10% alcohol.